The main difference between Scholastic and Bloomsbury editions of the books is the covers and the spelling (Scholastic uses American spelling for words such as symbolise, which is spelt as symbolize). Also, the title of the first novel differs between the two publishers. Bloombsbury published the first novel as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, whereas in America the novel was published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Other, very minor, differences in wording occur throughout the Scholastic editions, preferring American nomenclature over British, such as the word "soccer" instead of "football" or "sweater" instead of "jumper." Also, the text is a bit bigger and, unlike Bloomsbury, at the beginning of every chapter there is a small picture illustrated by Mary GrandPré.

Its logo, which resembles lightning, is different than the British edition. It is later used as the logo of the film franchise